A fed-up janitor has allegedly destroyed $1 million worth of scientific research after shutting off a noisy machine.
We all understand how irritating beeping noises can be, but most of us would rather endure it than get caught up in a million-dollar lawsuit.
That's what happened to one janitor that has now found themselves at the center of a hefty court battle after unintentionally destroying decades of scientific work due to the alarm.
On September 17, 2020, an unnamed custodian from Daigle Cleaning Services was working at the Cogswell Building at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, Michigan, when they were allegedly annoyed by the sound coming from a super-cold storage freezer.
With one simple click, the worker turned the alarm off, obliterated 25 years of research, and caused at least $1 million in damages.
According to The Times Union, the freezer held cell cultures, samples, and other elements stored at minus-112 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, once the employee turned off the circuit breaker, temperatures in the unit rose to -25.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-32), thereby resulting in the materials being damaged or exterminated.
"People’s behavior and negligence caused all this," Michael Ginsberg, RPI’s attorney, told the publication. "Unfortunately, they wiped out 25 years of research."
The suit contended that the employee could've avoided all this if they noticed a sign on the lab freezer door that explained the source of the alarm, and also had instructions on how to silence it.
"THIS FREEZER IS BEEPING AS IT IS UNDER REPAIR. PLEASE DO NOT MOVE OR UNPLUG IT. NO CLEANING REQUIRED IN THIS AREA. YOU CAN PRESS THE ALARM/TEST MUTE BUTTON FOR 5-10 SECONDS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MUTE THE SOUND," the sign read, per the outlet.
However, it has been claimed that the cleaner thought they were flipping the breaker on when they actually turned it off, according to a report filed by the RPI public safety staff.
In addition to this, the investigation noted that; "At the end of the interview, [the janitor] still did not appear to believe he had done anything wrong but was just trying to help".
Furthermore, the cleaning company had a $1.4 million contract to clean the RPI facilities during the 2020 fall semester.
RPI's lawyer told the outlet that it would cost an estimated $1 million to replicate the work, which reportedly focused on photosynthesis and may have furthered solar panel development.
"A majority of specimens were compromised, destroyed, and rendered unsalvageable demolishing more than 20 years of research," the lawsuit said.
